September 29th, 2008 Lloyds TSB’s chairman Sir Victor Blank believes that he’s getting the bargain of the century with his HBOS acquisition. However, the catalogue of errors that brought HBOS to its knees means the Edinburgh-based lender is more likely to be a disastrous deal for Blank. Ian Fraser reports. SIR VICTOR Blank and Eric […]

By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: September 21st 2008 It was at a lavish party at Spencer House, the opulent former London residence of the family of Diana, Princess of Wales, that HBOS’s fate was sealed. Sir Victor Blank, the city grandee who has been chairman of Lloyds TSB since May 2006, had been […]

By Ian Fraser The Sunday Times August 10th, 2008 An ousting is more likely to prove successful if shareholders gang up behind the scenes than if they shout their displeasure from the rooftops Anthony Bolton, the Fidelity fund manager who formerly ran the investment group’s top-performing special situations fund, last week gave some insights into […]

By Ian Fraser Sunday Herald March 23rd, 2008 Big five banks admonished by governor King as they plead for more support. BANK OF England governor Mervyn King used his now-famous meeting with the chief executives of the “big five” UK banks last Thursday to admonish them for increasing shareholder dividends, as they came begging for […]